As desert-dwellers, Eastern Washington’s grape growers and the winemakers
who love them have always had strategies for dealing with hot, dry weather. The
Washington wine industry is built on irrigation, and its cleverest players have
continually sought out less extreme sites to plant their vines—cooler expositions,
higher elevations, more water-retentive soils—as well as dramatically improved their
selections of clones and rootstocks to match their various sites.

Washington State AVA Map courtesy of Washington State Wine. Click for high resolution version

But the extreme heat in 2013, 2014 and 2015, with each growing season
warmer than the last, required growers and makers alike to get much more
creative with the vineyards that currently supply their fruit and with the way
they handle their raw material when it reaches the winery.

A Brief Recap of
the 2013 and 2014 Growing Seasons

Following three years that were cool, downright chilly and moderate,
respectively, the heat returned in 2013.
The spring was actually cool and long, and the flowering was late, but the
second half of July and the month of August were blistering hot. The harvest
began in a rush under torrid conditions in early September, with most white
varieties, Merlot and some Syrah often brought in with shriveled grapes and
overripe flavors. But a sustained
cool-down in the second half of September and early October allowed harvesters
to take a break and let their fruit hang for better phenolic maturity, without
potential alcohol levels going through the roof or natural acidity levels
dropping precipitously.

Two thousand fourteen was then a consistently hot growing season virtually from start to
finish, breaking records for total heat accumulation in most growing areas in
eastern Washington. Some growers pointed out that the vines were acclimated to
the heat early on, and that there were fewer extreme heat spikes than in 2013, but
others noted that sustained periods with temperatures in the low 90s, during which
the vines continue to work and don’t quite reach the shut-down point, were more
likely to result in overripe flavors, not to mention higher pHs. And, in
general, there was more heat after veraison
in 2014 than there had been the previous year.

The Record-Shattering 2015 Vintage

Washington went from the frying pan of
2014 to the fire in 2015, although most growers maintain that it was a healthy
burn. The warmth arrived freakishly early, with Growing Degree Days (a measure
of total heat accumulation based on the amount by which each day’s average
temperature exceeds 50 degrees Fahrenheit) beginning in February. Bud break,
flowering and harvest were all two to three weeks ahead of normal. Most growers
had their earliest harvest starts ever, beginning in mid-August, and many
finished by the end of September, which is also extremely rare in eastern
Washington, where the harvest in cool years can stretch into November. There
were long periods during the summer with temperatures in the mid to upper 90s
in the warmer sites, and more 100+ days than in any previous year. As the vines
tend to shut down when afternoon temperatures exceed 95 degrees, the stultifying
heat actually extended the growing season a bit, and moderating temperatures in
late August and September made the harvest less of a mad rush. One of the keys
to the concentration, deep colors and style of the 2015 reds was the small size
of the grapes, with the brutal heat of July particularly instrumental in
suppressing berry size.

Charles Smith's new high-tech cellar north of Boeing Field in Seattle

Three Potentially Excellent Years, though Opinions and Results Vary

It is clear that 2013, 2014 and 2015 all
provided the raw materials to make outstanding wines, although 2015 appears to
have been a tough year from which to make vibrant, balanced white wines in the
warmest areas, and the early-picked varieties in 2013 offered distinctly mixed
quality. Interestingly, growers’ opinions are split on the merits of 2013 and
2014. While the majority of the winemakers I tasted with this summer or
communicated with in recent weeks admit that the 2014s are more likely to show
roasted aromas or signs of dehydrated berries, many also say they prefer this
vintage to 2013 for its greater ripeness combined with surprisingly good balancing
acidity. A few reported that their 2013s are more likely to show overripe
aromas. But it’s important to note that most winemakers do not feel that either
of these years is characterized by excessive overripeness. And those who work
high-altitude vineyards often consider both of these vintages to be relatively
easy years.

Nina Buty (Buty Winery) noted that “at
the same sugar levels of the juice, the 2014 wines
held a little more acidity, while the 2013s, as a general rule, seem to show a
bit more tannin.” Chris Figgins (Leonetti Cellar, FIGGINS) took a longer view, noting that the recent increases in total heat units have partly occurred
early in the season, resulting in early bud breaks, earlier flowering and,
obviously, earlier harvest dates. In fact, he added, “because we’ve been
picking earlier, a good bit of the total heat unit accumulation has actually
occurred after we harvested.” He went on: “In
my opinion, 2009 and 1998 were much hotter than 2013, 2014 and even 2015 both
in terms of extreme high temperatures and the resulting wines. In fact, 2009
stands out in my mind as the one vintage that had overt alcohol and extra-ripe
characteristics.”

And of course Figgins and many of his
colleagues in the desert are far more clever today about managing their
vineyards to deal with heat spikes than they were in the late ‘00s, to say
nothing of the late ‘90s. “The 2013s are a bit angular while the ‘14s are more
user-friendly wines,” he summarized. Chris Gorman (Gorman Winery), who works
mostly with fruit from the very warm, dry Red Mountain AVA,
added, “Funny, I don't think of 2013 and 2014
as being unusually ripe or hot.” And David Larsen (Soos Creek) noted: “I have
no complaints about 2013, and 2014 was even better for us. Overripeness and
cooked fruit seem to be associated with long hang time. But we try to pick on
the early side to avoid those issues.”

Marty Clubb of L’Ecole No. 41 contended that total heat units are less
important than heat units between veraison
and harvest. He explained the differences between 2013 and 2014 this way: “Two
thousand thirteen stayed hotter
than usual through mid-September, and then dramatically cooled off. Sugars were
normal, not high, but acids were slightly lower, particularly for later-maturing
Cabernet Sauvignon. While 2014 was overall hotter, we had near-normal
temperatures in mid-August and early September, resulting in better balance,
both in terms of phenolic structure and acids.”

Chris Peterson, who makes the Passing
Time wines as well as his own Avennia label, views the 2014s as “bigger wines,
with sweeter fruit than the 2013s. The pHs were higher in 2013 but grape sugars
were lower, and the vintage drinks cooler than 2014.” Bob Betz (Betz Family
Vineyards) similarly described the 2013s as “more delicate, cerebral and
sharply chiseled,” adding that the 2014s are richer and higher in dry extract.
Ben Smith of Cadence noted that "the ‘13s have the acidity, thrust and
structure to appeal to the Euro crowd.” But Brennon Leighton (B. Leighton,
Sixto), believes that the phenolics are less mature and complex in the ‘13s
than in the ‘14s. A
majority of winemakers agree that the 2014s will show well earlier than the
‘13s.

And 2015 is in a Category
of its Own

Although I only tasted a few early-bottled 2015 reds, with the biggest
wines of the vintage at least a year away from hitting the retail market, the
superlatives were flying this summer. David Larsen considers 2015 to be Washington’s
best vintage since 1999, largely due to the extremely small berry size.
“Despite the heat and the early harvest, the
grapes had excellent flavors with acceptable levels of sugars and acids,” he
told me, with the qualifier that early picking probably helped. Peter Devison (EFESTÉ)
noted that “the 2015s are big, rich wines with an abundance of ultra-ripe
tannins and a lot of ‘fruit weight,’” but he was also concerned that some
vineyards or fruit lots lack the tension to give them ageability. Casey
McClellan (Seven Hills Winery) considers the 2015s to be “quite extravagant and
hedonistic—a challenging but fun vintage to work with.” Nina Buty pointed out
that the early heat of 2015 “didn’t necessarily
translate into more ripeness—it just woke the vines up earlier. So while 2015
has high overall Growing Degree Days, that warmth didn’t all translate into
sugar levels in the grapes.” In sum, most growers agree that 2015 produced
large-scaled, opulent wines that will give pleasure relatively early, but some
said it was just too hot to make vibrant white wines.
Said Anna Schafer (àMaurice Cellars): “It was so hot that white grapes often
ripened on one side of the vine but not the other.”

Vines in Va Piano's home vineyard

A Glance at 2016

Following the record heat of 2015,
growers had major fears about 2016, as an unusually warm winter and a toasty
spring led to the earliest flowering in history. Heat accumulation figures at
that point were well ahead of those of ’15, and many growers were resigned to
starting their harvest in mid-August.
But there were a couple spells of temperate weather in mid-June and in July
(not during my time in Walla Walla Valley, sadly), and conditions turned much
more moderate in early August. The harvest began early but was long and
leisurely, going on for six weeks or more for some producers and lasting through
late October. The fruit enjoyed the benefits of long hang time without high
potential alcohol or plunging acidity levels, and many growers are already
quite excited about the vintage. Clearly, harvest conditions were much more
favorable for white grapes than they were in 2015.

Dealing with the Challenge of Heat

I asked most of the winemakers I visited
this summer, plus some that I didn’t, to name their biggest challenge during
the recent hot years, as well as the steps they’ve taken to respond, both in
the vineyards and winery. Gilles Nicault (Long Shadows Vintners
Collection) succinctly described the chief challenge as “sunburn on the berries
and the potential early sugar spike before flavor development and full
physiological maturity.” Andrew Trio (Corliss Estates, Tranche), who seeks a
more ageworthy claret-like style, described the same issue from a slightly
different standpoint: “Our main challenge was achieving dense, ripe, supple
tannins while maintaining a cool, herbaceous character and a dark spectrum of
fruit.”

Needless to say, canopy management and
strategic use of irrigation were mentioned by most respondents as ways to slow
down ripening as well as to prevent sunburn on the grapes and serious blockage
of maturity. David Larsen told me he has responded “by shading [his] fruit
better, with more leaves and better watering practices, including misting with
water to cool down the vines.” Kendall Mix told me his biggest challenge has
been to convince his growers ”to increase irrigation to support more foliage on
the afternoon side of the plants to avoid excessive sunburn.” Said Marty Clubb:
“In the vineyards we delayed thinning and leaf pulling in order to delay
veraison as much as possible. Sunburn is an issue, and too much west-side burn
lowers anthocyanin development and results in poorer color.”

Another key in hot years with early
flowering is to push the final ripening period later into September. “The
key is to grow healthy vines that do their final ripening in late September and
early October, since high temperatures generally do not occur up here past
mid-September,” explained Paul Golitzin (Quilceda Creek). Kendall Mix
(Cadaretta, Lawrelin) added: “I think slightly larger crops also allow us to disperse
sugar accumulation into a larger sink, which gives time for flavor development
to catch up.” Christophe Baron (Cayuse Vineyards, No Girls, Horsepower), a
pioneer in biodynamic farming in eastern Washington, noted that this approach
is especially constructive in hot years as it “allows for better phenolic
ripeness at lower levels of potential alcohol—not to mention better-balanced
wines in general.”

I
will give Billo Naravane (Rasa Vineyards, Echo Ridge Cellars) the last
comprehensive word on how to make balanced wines in especially hot years in the
desert. “In my
opinion, in 2013, 2014 and 2015, proper vineyard management was absolutely
essential,” he said, “and it was possible to make some terrific, well-balanced
wines in all three vintages provided that appropriate steps were taken. For the
vineyards that I consult for and for the vineyards from which we source fruit
for Rasa, I closely track the heat unit summation until the end of June or
mid-July. In the 2013 through 2015 vintages, since the heat summation was ahead
of schedule we took aggressive steps to slow down the ripening. We kept a
slightly higher fruit load than normal; instead of 2 tons per acre, we cropped
at 2.3 to 2.5 tons, depending on the vigor of the site. And we reduced the
overall canopy by 25% to 35%--fewer leaves equals less photosynthesis equals
less sugar accumulation. We were careful not to leaf-strip too much in the
fruit zone, in order to prevent sunburning of fruit. And we also kept the vines
under a moderate level of water stress; in hotter years I don’t like high
levels of water stress because a sudden heat spike may cause serious damage to
the vines.

“If these steps were followed, it was
possible to slow down the sugar accumulation so that it better aligned with flavor
and phenolic maturity. That being said, I know a lot of vineyards where the
appropriate measures were not taken. This resulted in very high sugar levels in
the grapes with little to no flavor development; the wines made from such
grapes will lack any depth or complexity. I think consumers will have to be
quite cautious in their wine selections in these years to avoid overripe
character with low acidity. And I would fully expect to see more surmaturité character in 2015 than in 2014,
and in 2014 vs. 2013.”

A feast of riches in the Cayuse tasting room

Questioning
Received Wisdom

In
fact, very low crop levels in the desert do not always produce the
best-balanced wines. Hanging a larger crop is one way to slow down the uptake
of sugar in the grapes and allow for better phenolic maturity, as the hot years
are capable of ripening much more fruit than the cooler seasons that begin with
a later flowering. Some winemakers and growers avoid excessive thinning of the
grapes early in the season, especially in the recent years featuring very early
flowering. Said Sean Boyd (Rotie Cellars): “Gearing up for hot growing seasons
means starting crop loads heavier and green harvesting just before the heat
waves dissipate, then encouraging concentration of the fruit during the
rest of the season. Explained Jeff Lindsay-Thorsen (W. T. Vintners): “Hanging a
bit heavy early on diffuses some of the vines’ energy and slows ripening.”

Similarly,
long hang time of the grapes in the desert does not necessarily bring better
balance. Many winemakers are picking earlier, favoring
acid retention and fresher fruit character over complete tannin ripeness. As
Chris Upchurch (DeLille Cellars, Upchurch Vineyard) put it: “Don't be afraid of some tannins. If you wait for
tannins to soften too much then you will favor overripeness. Tannins can be
naturally resolved in the cellar. We don’t wait to harvest. If the underripe
and green qualities are gone, then the fruit is ripe. Red, blue and black
fruits are fine; it doesn’t matter—just nothing green.” David Larsen added
that cooked-fruit aromas and dehydrated grapes “are attributes
that seem to be associated with long hang time,” which is not necessarily the
case in cooler wine regions. And more and more Washington winemakers are purposely
using slightly underripe, early-picked fruit as a natural acidifier to freshen
their wines, of particular utility in a wine region where acidification is
widely necessary. (Similarly, as raisiny
or port-like flavors are harder to hide in a blend than less-than-optimal skin
ripeness, the best winemakers are now especially careful to eliminate overripe
lots from their wines.)

Aryn Morell (Gard Vintners, Ardor Cellars, Mullan Road Cellars, Tenor
Wines, Matthews Winery, Morell-Lawrence) told me he picks in waves. “We’ve
decided that in the recent hot years, flavor
development—or, more accurately, overdevelopment—was going to be harder to
overcome during production if the grapes were picked at physiological maturity
than it would be to pick with the ideal flavor profile based on the season and
have the fruit be less physiologically mature.” He added that fruit from warm
seasons is “going to show riper tendencies even if it’s picked slightly
earlier” and he worries that too many of his colleagues in the recent hot years
“don’t think the flavor or the
phenolic maturity is quite there, so they wait. But in many cases, in hot, fast
growing seasons the fruit will
never really have enough time to achieve ideal physiological maturity anyway.”
He believes that he can pick slightly earlier and still have “the best chance
for aromatic complexity and youthfully fresh fruit,” because his new winery
facility and equipment lets him manage the slightly more aggressive tannin
profile that his fruit begins with.

(Analogously, a growing number of red
Burgundy producers feel that it’s a lot easier to add sugar to fermenting
must—and even to deal with slightly underripe phenolics—than it is to somehow
eliminate or even mask raisiny, shriveled-fruit character in their wines once they
allow their grapes to get too ripe.)

Abeja's Mill Creek Estate vineyard, on the northeast side of Walla Walla

More
Precise Picking and Sorting

Timely harvesting is also critical in
the hot years, and is facilitated by smaller-lot fermentations. Clearly, very
selective picking to avoid desiccated clusters, careful elimination of raisined
fruit in the winery, and declassification of overripe lots can make the
difference between producing wines with a roasted character and those with
fresh aromas and flavors. If it’s necessary to harvest when the weather is
still hot, many growers and wineries pick very early in the morning, when the
grapes are still reasonably cool. And of course, steps taken throughout the
growing season to slow down the ripening process can also alleviate the
logistical challenges posed by compressed harvests and reduce the likelihood
that normally early-ripening varieties will need to be picked under uncomfortably warm conditions at the end of
August or in early September.

The wines in this article were tasted in Washington during the last
week of June and the last week of July, and in extensive subsequent tastings
(and retastings) in New York from late September through early November.